must find good title for this one
by Foxsword
Summary: You all know that Sasuke's wanted by Orochimaru. What you don't know is that he has a twin sister. So does Orochimaru want this one as well? The life and times of an Uchiha, a demon-possessed Hyuuga, and the cousin of Naruto.
1. Meet the Characters

**Prologue**

Sora was extremely bored. She ran her fingers through her hair and put her chin in her hands. Iruka Sensei had been listing who was in which team for hours, and he still wasn't done yet.

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke are in Squad 7."

Sora looked up at the sound of "Uchiha," then relaxed again when she heard her brother Sasuke's name being called.

Sora glanced at Sakura, who was sitting behind her. The pink-haired girl was trying hard to keep her excitement from showing, but it was a failed attempt. _Ugh,_ Sora thought. _He's just a boy. If you really knew what he's like, you'd have a very different impression. _

Sora looked out the window and caught sight of her reflection mirrored there. Since there was nothing else to do, she scrutinized her face closely. People were always telling her that she looked like Sasuke, he being her twin after all, but she didn't think so.

Granted, their noses and faces were of the same shape, but just about everything else were different. Sora's long tied back hair was thick but straight and a dark green-black in color, while Sasuke's stood up near the back and had a blue tinge rather than green. Her brother's eyes were the same color as his hair, but Sora's were a mix of gray and sea green. Her thoughts gradually drifted to making a new weapon. Genji had made some: kunai and shuriken filled with a sticky, spider web-like substance that was strong as rope and sticky as glue.

"Uzumaki Genji, Uchiha Sora, and Hyuuga Natsuko are in Squad 11." Iruka Sensei announced.

"What!!!???" cried a boy near the back. "I've got _two_ girls on my team!!!????"

Sora had a somewhat different reaction. _This Natsuko person had better not be one of the girly types. Having crazy Genji on my team is bad enough. Hmm… Hyuuga. Hopefully a quiet person. _

Iruka Sensei chose to ignore him. "You will all be meeting your sensei's tomorrow 8:00 sharp at the academy, dismissed." Chairs slid and footsteps echoed down the hall. Sora glanced around, craning her neck to find her teammates among the mass of people.

She already knew who Genji was; the boy who was yelling, and the one who had made those sticky weapons. He was a direct cousin of Naruto and had basically the same personality of him, too. Almost everyone knew what he looked like; he was the class clown. His hair was the color of fire, and his eyes seemed to change in ranges of blue, depending on his mood. Besides his hair color, he was just like Naruto in every way. She guessed that he would be in a bad mood, so she decided not to look for him. Sora didn't really know what Natsuko looked like, but since the girl was Hinata's cousin and Neji's younger sister; she probably would look like them.

All of a sudden, she spotted Natsuko walking ahead of her. Sora ran toward her, following the yellow leg-cape that the Hyuuga girl always wore. Elbowing past a few people, she caught up to her. "Hi," Sora said.

"Oh, hi! You're Sasuke's sister, right?" asked Natsuko, excited. She had sea-blue hair and the trademark lavender eyes of a Hyuuga, just as Sora had thought. In fact, she looked just like Hinata, apart from her clothes. But her personality!

Sora was slightly taken aback. She had thought that a cousin of Hinata would be shy and quiet. "Um, yeah."

They stepped out into the sunlight. "Oh, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

The minute Sora got through the front door of the small apartment that she shared with Sasuke, she called out, "Hey, bro! You've got Naruto in your team, right? Well, I've got his cousin!"

Sasuke peeked out of his bedroom's sliding door. "Nice to know. Dinner's on the table."

She rolled her eyes, and repeated, "I said, I've got Genji in my squad..."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Uh...you're supposed to say: Gee, what a coincidence."

"Gee, what a coincidence." Sasuke said in a bored voice. "Now go eat dinner."

"I'm only younger than you by ten minutes and you treat me like an eight-year old!"

"Just eat."

"Fine… what's for dinner?"

"Fried rice."

"Come on! Not again. We had that yesterday."

"Too bad for you. If you don't like it, you can just starve to death."

"Fine."

Meanwhile, Genji was a having a somewhat more fruitful conversation with Naruto.

"I can't believe I'm stuck with two girls! They're probably going to be just like Saku – I mean, Ino."

"Well, it's better than being a girl yourself and having three on a team, right?"

"Um, was that supposed to be a joke?"

"Yeah, what else could it be?"

"I dunno…"

The next morning, Sora awoke to the chimes of the clock tower. She counted along with the bells; "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...Aack! It's Eight!!! Better hurry!" She threw on her ninja clothes and hurried down the stairs, not even glancing at her breakfast. Sasuke was already gone. "Darn bro, why didn't he wake me?!"

She ran down the streets of Konoha swiftly, but when she arrived at the correct room, the only people that were there were squad 7 and Natsuko. "Hi!"

The sea-blue haired kunoichi remarked, "Everyone already left except for us."

Sora briefly held Sasuke in a death glare for not waking her up before realizing the meaning of Natsuko's message. "Our sensei is late!?!"

"Look on the bright side, Sis, my sensei is late too." Sasuke said, shifting his gaze to Naruto as he set up a mini trap.

"There! Once Sensei opens the door, the blackboard eraser will fall on his head!"

Sakura shook her head at his hopelessness, but her inner-self throbbed with excitement. _"Yeah! I love this type of stuff!"_

Just then they heard a noise. "Eek! Sasuke, help meeeee!" Sakura cried, hiding behind Sasuke.

Sora greatly despised anyone who tried to flirt with her brother, and she watched Natsuko roll her eyes, Naruto quiver with rage, and Genji jump up and down idiotically screaming.

"Good thing Hyuuga girl doesn't chase after my bro," she whispered to herself, extremely annoyed.

Without warning the door creaked eerily.

Thump!

A tall guy with raggedy, soot black hair stepped in. His index finger was blocking the eraser and it landed loudly. He appeared to be deep in thought, and his eyes were closed as if he was meditating.

Genji landed harshly on his butt. "Ouch! Huh?! How did you block that with your eyes closed?"

The young jonin shushed him as he continued meditating. After what seemed like hours, his eyes opened. "Okay, I'm done. I'm Takeshi, your sensei." He said, pointing to Sora, Genji, and Natsuko. "Squad 11, follow me."

"B-but you still didn't answer my question!" Takeshi ignored him.

"Now...tell us about yourself, your name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, dreams, that kind of stuff. I'll go first. My name is Ogawa Takeshi. My hobbies are thinking and meditating, I like thinking, and I dislike anything that disturbs my meditation. My dream is to lead a peaceful life, nothing more."

Sora and Natsuko exchanged a glance. This guy was turning out to be just as passive and boring as Kakashi, the top jonin. They wondered if their sensei was as good as him, too.

"Now that I'm done, you can go," Takeshi said, pointing to Sora.

"My name is Uchiha Sora. My hobbies are beating up anyone who tries to flirt with Sasuke and . I like practicing my skills and having adventure; I dislike boring, repetitive, uninteresting things. My dream...is, um...I guess I don't really have one."

Takeshi pointed his finger at Natsuko. "My name is Hyuuga Natsuko! My hobby is being happy. I like to train with Hinata and Neji, I dislike girly people and my dream is to become as great as Neji!"

"Finally! My turn," Genji broke in. "My name is Uzumaki Genji, my hobby is tasting different kinds of ramen with Naruto, I like to eat ramen with Naruto, I dislike Naruto's enemies, and my dream is to beat Naruto and become hokage!"

Takeshi nodded, "Interesting group...meet me again at this same spot tomorrow at nine. Bye!" Before anyone could say anything Takeshi vanished as if the wind had vaporized him.

"What!?! Aren't we going to do something else? All we did was talk about ourselves! When's the mission stuff going to start?" Genji's words poured out like a torrent of water. "I bet Naruto is going on a cool mission tomorrow and we have to just sit here with a philosopher!?! I mean, come on...don't you guys agree? Plus, when's our training? We probably won't even go anywhere with this sen--"

"Shut up, will you?" his teammates grumped in unison. Genji's mouth immediately snapped shut.

Natsuko slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

"You're such an idiot."

"Thank you."

"Thank you?"

"I mean...how dare you say that to the future hokage?!"

"You're not going to be the future hokage if Naruto does."

"I agree with Sora."

"He won't be hokage!"

"How do you know?

"Because...of...something..."

Both kunoichi shook their heads, "Let's just go."


	2. Chapter 1

Sora watched as Genji screeched over and over again at the Hokage: all their assignments were so tediously easy, squad 7 was already on a mission to the Mist Village, etc. His attitude certainly was matching his hair today; red, red, and more red. The third Hokage sat patiently in his chair until Genji halted, panting for breath, then said, "Actually, I do have a mission for you."

Genji leaped into the air with full energy again. "Yeah! Whoohoo! Naruto's going to be proud of me now!"

Sarutobi chuckled, then became serious again as he continued, "The mission is in a deep lake to be exact. You are to find and retrieve an axe that was accidentally dropped into the water several weeks ago. It belongs to a woodcutter, so it is imperative that you give it back to him, because without it, he cannot support his family."

"What's so hard about that?" asked Genji, disappointed that it was another "easy mission."

"I haven't finished. That lake is full of strange plants and animals. No one has ever bothered explored it, so you must be on your guard for predators. This will be your first mission without your sensei, so it's alright to be nervous. It will be a bit harder then it sounds right now, but it won't be too hard for you three."

By now Genji was doing cartwheels. Natsuko gave Sora a look that said, "Geez, I can't believe we're stuck with him." Sora nodded back.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, you will begin."

Natsuko was the first to arrive at the grassy lawn outside of the entrance to Konoha. She lay there in the damp grass, boredom written all over her face. She had woken up 7:30 in order not to be late. Right now, it was 8:40Sora ran over, a piece of toast hanging in her mouth, "Aw man, I thought I was late! Now I've rushed for nothing." Her sloppily tied hair indicated that she had forgotten to brush it in her hurry.

Takeshi sensei hadn't arrived yet to send them off and neither had Genji. Suddenly a red blur stumbled next to Sora. Out of surprise, she accidentally jumped into the air.

Thud!

Her feet had landed on top of two blue ninja shoes. Genji screamed in pain and held a foot, dearly stroking it. It burned as if it was on fire. Sora blinked. Natsuko shook her head at his strange attitude.

With a big poof sound, Takeshi arrived, "Hello--"

"Aah!" A very surprised Sora yelled. She jumped into the air and landed, surprise, surprise, on another pair of feet. Takeshi winced as all her weight crashed onto his foot. Natsuko burst out laughing as he fell onto the floor and immediately recovered. She had never seen her sensei fall before.

"Now, I have a question. Sora, did you take a strength pill?" Takeshi asked, frowning at the sight of Genji and his foot.

Sora shook her head, blushing.

"Then, my dear foot crusher, you must have the strength of Tsunade."

"Tsunade-sama? Isn't she the one with supernatural strength?" Sora asked, wondering whether to take that as an insult or compliment.Takeshi continued, "Anyways, it is time for the mission. Squad 11, follow me!" He closed his eyes, assuming the position that his students had learned to recognize as "meditation while in physical action," and began to walk forward.

"Do you even KNOW where we're GOING?!?!" Natsuko cried, adding extra emphasis to the words 'know' and 'going'. Takashi nodded and motioned for them to follow.

"How did he know we weren't following?" Sora mumbled.

Natsuko shrugged. "Beats me."

They walked on for hours and hours, with Genji moaning for a break. Each time a complaint reached Takeshi's ears he would ask the disturber an incredibly hard philosophical question and continue to meditate while the person thought the question through.

"I want to stop now!" Genji whined a couple of minutes after his twelfth question. His feet were very sore, especially after that incident with Sora.

Natsuko replied, "Stop complaining. You're acting like a weakling. Plus, we've already reached our goal."

She was right. In front of them lay a vast sparkling lake, shimmering under the warm sun beams and spilling golden light over the smooth waters. The tiny waves gently lapped at the golden sand which surrounded it, giving the lake a refreshing appearance. Genji gasped and sped away to the lake, jumping into the calm, crystal water, disturbing its stillness. The two girls pulled off their outer clothes (they had put on swimsuits underneath their normal clothes), and Genji eventually got out and changed into the proper clothes and leaped, once again, into the cool water.

"Well, bye all!" Takeshi said as he left back in the direction he came from.

After a while, the three ninjas calmed down a bit. "Enough of this swimming," Sora said. As the leader of the team, it was her job to make sure assignments stayed serious and did not become field trips. "Let's begin our mission."

Natsuko nodded in agreement and ducked under water, swimming down into the murky depths of the lake, looking for any signs of a clue as she ran her fingers across the sandy floor. Genji swam by, frantically waving at her, and Natsuko saw an oyster clamped over his hand.

_That idiot._ Natsuko rose up for air and he followed after her. Natsuko yanked at the clam over and over again, with Genji yelping in pain every once in a while. Sora came by and helped her try to jerk the oyster off his hand. They finally gave up yanking, and the blue-haired kunoichi swiftly did some hand signs, "Ice crystal edge!" A cold ice coat started to surround poor Genji's hand.  
Genji glared at his literally cold tormentor and bit his lip as the iciness crept over his fingers and finally over the shell. His hand was numb from the freezing, sharp pain.

Natsuko nodded at Sora who did her own series of hand signs, "Flames of the underworld!"

Genji's eyes bulged to the size of a dinner plate, "N-no! Please! Spare meeeee!" Bright fire licked at the ice, melting it away. The flames leaped at the oyster as the ice slowly dissolved and the clam fell off.

Sora dropped the oyster back into the water and said, "Guys! I have an idea. If we find the assassin's hideout, then we can find all the information we need. Look for any clue of a secret door. If you think you've found it, come back to the surface and report it when the others come back. Let's go!" Sora slipped back into the unwelcoming depths, searching for any clue lying under a rock or hidden among the lake's vegetation.

Beside her, Natsuko spied Genji surfacing the water. She swam up after him, followed by Sora. Genji waved his arms wildly.

"I've found something! I've found something!" he cried, splashing water all over the others.

"Good, now hurry and show us." Sora snapped at him, annoyed by his dumbness.

He nodded and saluted, "Aye, aye, cap'n!" The two girls followed him into a deep area, and he pointed at the sand and eagerly started to dig. Next to Genji there was a great sturdy rock wall that started from the water and rose all the way up, and no one could climb up to see past it because the walls were slick and slimy.

Natsuko shrugged as if saying, "What can you do?" and mimicked him, throwing sand everywhere. Everyone gasped.

Due to Natsuko's sand throwing, a small tunnel entrance in the stone had appeared. They all rose up for air, and Sora said, "This tunnel is man-made, so it might be a spy from another village. We'd better go tell Hokage-sama about this."

"What?!?!" yelled Genji. "And miss out on an opportunity for adventure? No way! If we tell the Hokage, he'll probably give this mission to another team. And then we'll never have a chance to prove our skills in combat."

"If we get killed we'll never get a chance to prove anything at all!" It was Natsuko. "I vote for telling the Hokage about this."

"I agree," said Sora.

"Well, I don't! If you guys are too _scared_ to go into that little tunnel, then I'll go myself!" And with that, Genji dove back down into the unwelcoming depths.

Natsuko and Sora knew that they had no choice but to follow him, so they did. After all, if he did meet something unfriendly, he would need help. When the two girls reached the tunnel, all they could see was Genji's feet, rapidly fading away into the darkness.

One by one they squeezed into the tiny entrance. But even though they were swimming quickly, the tunnel showed no sign of ending. "We're going to run out of breath!" Genji thought.

The others seemed to realize this too, because they sped up their pace even more. The narrowness of the passage did not allow enough room to use their arms, so they had to rely on their legs. The little tunnel went deeper, and then turned sharply to the side. Team 11 went through it as fast as they could until they reached another gaping hole.

Poor Genji nearly flew up towards it. His lungs were going to burst, and if he didn't have a whiff of air _now_ he'd drown. He could tell his face was turning blue-ish purple from lack of air. The surface was near, oh, so near. Finally, his face hit the top of the lake. Genji gulped in the cool air, calming himself down. His arms and legs felt weak from the lack of air.

"Uh...S-sora...I need, huh, huh, a b-break." Natsuko noted feebly. Genji nodded also. And Sora agreed. She lay on her back, slowly floating through the connected lake's water.

"Ugh...so...tired." Natsuko commented, wading lazily in the water. She was floating to who-knows-where, getting farther and farther away from her teammates, not even noticing how much distance was between her and them. All of a sudden, her head bumped against a stiff wall made entirely of...tile?

A painful bump rising on her forehead, she turned around and felt the walls. "Tile? What is this, some type of swimming pool? Hey guys, look what I found!" Sora and Genji tiredly swam toward her.

Sora placed a hand on a smooth creamy white tile. She paid more attention to it as she felt some sort of energy flowing inside it. Natsuko stared at her with a puzzled face.

"Natsuko, use your Byakugan."

She obeyed, still bewildered, "BYAKUGAN!" Flowing blue chakra pulsed inside. Natsuko focused harder as a blurry image began to appear through the thick wall. "A chair, rickety bed, and...aha!"

Genji looked at her. "What is it?"

"A dresser. A couple of scrolls are inside it, and maybe that's some of the whoever-it-is' information! Can you break through the wall?"

"I know I can!" Genji boasted. Sora rolled her eyes and let him go. "Multi Shadow Doppelganger Jutsu!" Millions of Genji copies appeared.

"Alright! Let's go! Punch the wall open!"

A chorus of "Yeah!" was heard. All of the Genji copies flew at the tiles. Clenched fists slammed at it over and over again. There were big poofs as the doppelgangers disappeared after each failed to harm it.

Even the REAL Genji didn't even make a scratch. "How are we going to break the wall?" Natsuko groaned in frustration.

Sora did a series of hand signs with a serious expression of confidence, "Flames of Glory!!!!" A wave of flames slapped against the wall, hot sparks and ashes shoved at it with unnatural strength. Suddenly everyone heard an echoing, booming...Crack!

Sora looked at the tile wall hopefully as a little smoke cloud cleared away. She saw a thin crack, as thin as a strand of hair. "That's it?" She mumbled, loud enough for her teammates to hear.

Natsuko waded over and cleared her throat loudly. "Ahem, have any of you guys though that maybe I could see where the chakra is weakest?"

Genji shook his head stupidly. "No, I didn't think of that."

Natsuko rolled her eyes and got close to the wall, "Byakagun!" She was concentrating hard. "I see, the weakest point is actually--" Her finger rose and pointed straight ahead "There."

Genji was puzzled. "But that's where Sora just hit, and it's obviously not weak."

Natsuko rolled her eyes. "I'm pointing through it, not at it, you dummy."

"So where's there? I don't have your blood-line thingamajig, so I can't see what you're pointing to," Sora said.

Natsuko's eyes became normal again. "Oh, right. Follow me." She swam to a deeper end, following the tile wall. It took a while since the tile-covered stone wall stretched far. Suddenly she led the team to a sharp turn. They swam further and did another turn. Then all of them went forward in a straight line until finally Natsuko stopped, "Here."

Genji stared at her, "So it was all the way around?"

"Yes, the house was actually carved in this big peninsula – or cliff – or whatever it is."

"Oooh!" Genji exclaimed.

Sora was about to do the same jutsu as before when a thought hit her like a bolt of lightning, "Natsuko! Do you know any jutsu that might restore the rock ruins back to its place?"

"What are you talking about?"

"If I make a hole, won't the person know what's going on when he comes back?"

"Oh, right."

"So do you know one?"

"I do, but..."

"But what?"

"It requires a lot of my chakra, and I've used up most of it."

"Oh." Then everyone – even Genji - started pondering.

"She could regain her chakra if she rests, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, Genji, but we don't have much time, and what if the assassin assassinates us in our sleep?"

"One of us stands guard while the rest of us sleep?"

"Good thinking, Sora. Should I go sleep now?"

"I guess."

"Who's gonna watch?" Genji asked excitedly. Sora and Natsuko all looked at him. "ME?!" he cried out.

"Yes, we both used a lot of chakra today and you hardly did. Though I wouldn't trust my life with you standing guard, we have to take risks."

Genji frowned, masking a complaint. "Fine."

Natsuko stared at the sky. It was dusk. Little stars had already formed on the horizon, twinkling softly in the stage between day and night. The girls swiftly ran out of the water and gathered a bunch of leaves to sleep in. They used as much chakra as they had left, and suddenly a blinding flash pierced the sky and all was still.

Genji realized they had changed clothes, using a jutsu to bring it over. He sat on a dusty, warm gray rock and stared up at the sky. A glowing moon appeared, shining like an evil eye through the thick black sky blanketing the land. The boy played around with the stuff in his weapon pouch for a while and whistled a tune.

"I wonder what Naruto is doing now." He remembered the time he had first met him...

_Lying beside the dirt road was a little boy about 7 or 8 years of age. He shuddered as an icy winter wind swept over, buffeting his rags harshly. His hunger clawed at his stomach and he longed to get up and beg for food. But he was weak from hunger and couldn't lift a finger to help himself. _

_"Hi!" A cheerful voice called out. Slowly the beggar boy rolled himself onto his side and saw a boy his age with spiky blonde hair and green ski goggles where a ninja's forehead protector was supposed to be. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna become Hokage one day. Believe it!" A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. _

_The poor boy found the strength to get up and whispered in a hoarse but happy voice, "My name's Uzumaki Genji!" _

_Naruto stood silent in shock for a moment then grabbed his hand and literally dragged him safely to his house. The would-be hokage treated Genji's wounds and gave him steamy warm ramen to eat. _

_"You can live with me if you like, 'cause I'm lonely all the time so I don't mind!" _

_"Wh-what happened to your parents?" Genji asked softly. _

_Naruto sadly looked at his feet, "I've never had any..." _

_The beggar boy smiled and pointed to himself, "I'm an orphan too!"_

Genji heard the leaves in the forest rustle gently with a faint hissing sound, but it must be a breeze. Strangely, he didn't feel any wind at all. He listened intently. There it was again! He could see the bushes tremble with some unknown thing lurking behind it. He shivered, hoping that he could wake Sora and Natsuko up without alerting the creature in the woods.

Finally, he mustered up the courage to call for his teammates' help. "Sora!! Natsuko!! I need some help over he ---- !!! "

Sora woke up with a start. _Genji!!_ She quickly shook Natsuko up, knowing that she was a deep sleeper.

"What the… Okay, Sora, I'm awake already! What is it?"

"Something's happened to Genji! I heard his yell and then his voice was cut off!"

"That baka-brained boy knows better than to tangle with forest animals when we're on a mission!" Natsuko growled angrily. She got up and began to sprint in the direction that Sora was now running.

Natsuko arrived a few seconds after Sora. The first thing she saw was Genji, flat out unconscious on the ground. She knelt down to examine him. He didn't appear to be bleeding, so it was probably just a knock on the head. Then she looked up at her other teammate.

Sora was standing stock still. She was staring at a pale-skinned, black-haired man with had purple markings around his eyes. They reminded Natsuko of a snake. He was holding a long wooden staff.

Natsuko took this all in, then shouted, "What did you do to our teammate?"

Then the man spoke. His voice was smooth and silky, like a cat's would be. "Your teammate was annoying me."

Natsuko replied by throwing three senbon needles at him. The stranger quickly stepped to the side, and the needles, narrowly missing him, buried themselves in a tree trunk.

"Impressive, but let's see what skill you show when you're playing defense!" The man threw a glowing orb of chakra, seemingly out of nowhere, at Natsuko. This much unexpected, lightning-fast move was too much for the kunoichi. Sora could only watch as the chakra hit her teammate, knocking her unconscious upon impact.

Then it was only Sora against the snake-eyed stranger.


	3. Dangerous? Or Not?

Chapter Two

Sora shook herself out of her stupor and managed to say, "Wh-what did you do that for?"

The man gave a sinister laugh, and then said, "Now we won't be disturbed by any of your meddling teammates. Actually, I was thinking Sasuke's team – yes, I know who your brother is – would be sent on this mission instead, but I suppose you're just about as good as he is. He's your twin after all. But I'm surprised at this boy's lack of skill. I would think that Hokage" – his voice stopped short, spitting out the word 'Hokage' as if it was venom – "would have the wits to choose a better team for such a 'mission.' "

While the man was talking, Sora quietly sneaked a hand down into her weapon pouch. Slowly, she drew out a kunai, making sure all the while that she kept a fake expression of horror on her face. Her heart racing, she waited for the man to look away, but he never did. His eyes bored into hers, seemingly reading every thought in her mind. Here, she realized, was a foe worthy of the utmost respect.

Finally, the man took his eyes off her for a brief moment. Instantly, the kunai flew through the air toward its unmistakable target. But just as it was about to hit the enemy, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sora heard a dull thud as the weapon on which her very life depended buried itself into the stump of a tree. Her heart sank. Her mysterious adversary could be anywhere! How was she supposed to escape him now?

She backed up against a tree trunk so that the snake man could not get her from behind. Sora's heart was beating so madly that she thought it would burst. The thought of that man sent chills down her spine. _Who is he, anyway?_

Suddenly, she heard a sound among the leaves of the tree she was leaning against. She spun around. Instantly, the unfortunate ninja felt her arm being grabbed and twisted painfully behind her, and a kunai pricking her throat.

She inwardly cursed herself for being so stupid, but it was no use now. She could feel the man's breath against her hair, and his voice was cold and spine-chilling.

"Hmm, I expected you to do better than that. Hopefully, you will improve enough to achieve my purposes."

"W-what purposes are you talking about? I'm not just going to do whatever you want!" Sora's temper started to rise. This man was treating her like a tool or a slave, not a person!

"Oh, but you will, soon. And if you don't, your brother will."

"What do you mean by –"

A groan from Genji interrupted Sora. It was followed by a murmured, "I'll get you for this! You won't be able to get away with this treatment of the future hokage!" He began to toss and turn.

"Well, anyhow, I'd better leave before the 'future hokage' wakes up," said the snake-eyed man. "But before I do, I need to give you a little reminder of my visit."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

The man bent down a little so that his face was on level with hers and his chin was almost touching her shoulder.

"Just this."

Sora felt something bite into her neck. Outwardly, she was calm and didn't make a sound. But inwardly, she was horrified. That bite could have been anything from a harmless nick to a lethal poison! But the more she thought about it, the more she was sure it was some type of poison. It hurt more with each passing second. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain.

She suddenly realized that the man was no longer touching her. She spun around. Indeed, he was nowhere to be seen. But that didn't matter much now. She touched her neck and nearly screamed. The pain was so intense; it was as if fire was consuming her from the inside out, but Sora clenched her teeth, determined to suffer in silence for as long as she could.

That wasn't very long.

Genji slowly rolled over and opened his eyes. "Sora, you're alive! How did you defeat…"

He was interrupted by a long, drawn-out cry of pain. Genji was taken aback. Sora had never complained about hurting before, and now this! He immediately rushed to wake up Natsuko.

"Uhh… Hey, what's wrong with Sora?" Natsuko rushed over to her teammate, who was now on the ground, screaming as if her guts were being ripped out before her eyes. "You're not even bleeding. Where does it hurt?"

"All over… Aaaaaaah!" Sora cried out in agony. Everything was a blur of pain. It was like being torn apart limb from limb, slashed to pieces with a knife, burned to death, frozen, and whipped with leather thongs all at the same time, except that this type of pain would never end. Gradually, her senses dulled, open only to the torture. She could dimly hear the voices of her friends, wrought with anxiety, and she could hear someone screaming. By now the pain was simply beyond imaginable. Sora almost wished she were dead and the whole ordeal over with. She was falling, falling into an empty blackness, and the faces of her teammates moved farther and farther away… Her thoughts gradually grew fuzzy, overcome by the pain as she closed her eyes and saw no more.

Outwardly, her voice, which had long ago ceased to make much real sound, stopped even trying to scream. Sora's muscles relaxed. Her face, twisted in her agony, slowly smoothed out until it seemed as if she was only sleeping. The only difference was that she was pale, terribly pale.

Genji was shocked. "Is she d-dead?" Tears were coming into his eyes, and he tried to hold them back. Ninjas didn't cry.

Natsuko pressed her ear to Sora's chest. "No, she's still alive, but I think we better call for help. This mission's gone out of control."

"Where are we going to find help?" asked Genji.

"What happened?" asked a voice from behind him. Genji spun around. It was Takeshi.

"Oh, Takeshi sensei, I'm so glad you're here - "

"What happened to Sora? We'd better get her to the hospital right away."


	4. The Snake

Chapter Three

Sora slowly opened her eyes. Her body ached all over, and the pain in her shoulder burned like fire.

She was lying in a soft bed, in a room that she couldn't exactly see; she was lying on her back. "Why am I so sore?" she asked aloud to the white ceiling.

"Because of the curse mark," said a low voice.

Sora was surprised to hear someone answer her, but all that memory flooding in kept her from being too alarmed. Of course! The events of her misadventure all came back to her; the secret lair, the snake man, and the unimaginable pain. She barely remembered to turn her head in the direction of the voice.

The speaker was none other than Hatake Kakashi, top jonin of Konoha. He was sitting in a chair near her bed, reading his book. He didn't look very much like a skilled and dangerous fighter that he was. But Sora knew that underneath that headband was a fearsome weapon: a sharingan. "Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Sora asked, puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to be with your team?"

"The Hokage didn't give us an assignment today, because he wanted me to watch you. But Sasuke's here. He's just outside."

"Wait, why am I being watched? It's not like that curse mark, or whatever you call it is going to make me evil…is it?"

"Probably not, but I'm to stay here with you to make sure Orochimaru or one of his followers doesn't attack you again."

"Oh, so that's who the snake-guy was. I had a suspicion that he was one of…them."

At this point, Sasuke quietly entered the room. He had his normal cold look on his face, but it softened slightly at the sight of his sister. His eyes also lost some of their iciness. "How're you doing?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess. I'm a little sore, but, other than that, I'm fine."

The door flew open, and in came Natsuko and Genji. Genji nearly jumped onto the sickbed, but Natsuko, thankfully, blocked him. He was everywhere at once, asking questions about what had happened when he was unconscious, how she fought Orochimaru, and everything in between. Sora laughed and tried to answer all his questions, but she hardly answered one when he came up with another. Finally, she told him to sit down while she told everyone the whole story as well as she could.

Just as she came to the part about the curse mark, the door burst open again. This time it was Takeshi-sensei. He had obviously been running, because he was out of breath. "Orochimaru's back! He and some of his followers are at the gate. We don't have enough people there to keep them at bay; several of us are already injured, and we're losing ground. You'd better come quick!"

He immediately left, and Kakashi went with him. Natsuko, Genji, and Sasuke went after their sensei's, leaving Sora by herself to think about the situation. _Orochimaru! But what does he want with me? I'm just a kid. What could he possibly want me for?_

Sora touched her neck, and winced. The pain seemed to be growing again, but not as quickly or severely as before. She rested her hand back on the bed. In doing so, Sora caught sight of her arm. She gasped in horror.

Black marks had somehow appeared on her upper arm, and they were spreading out down toward her hands. She glanced at her shoulder. They were there too. It all seemed to be spreading out from the curse mark. She painfully sat up and looked at her reflection in the cup of water next to her bed. They were spreading across her face as well.

All of a sudden, Sora heard a whoosh of air. "Greetings, Uchiha," said a voice that she knew all too well. She looked up, and the cup fell from her hands.

"Orochimaru." Sora, frightened as she was, kept a calm air about her. Better not let Orochimaru know she was scared.

"Yes. I've come to see you about my offer."

"What offer?" Sora narrowed her eyes.

"Well, let's just say I can train you, which will be…useful for both of us."

"I don't need you as my sensei, and I don't see how it will be useful for me; I don't need extra power for anything."

"Are you sure? How about power for…_revenge._" As Orochimaru said these words, Sora was suddenly shot back into the past, and she saw herself as an eight-year old at the academy, talking with her brother.

"You go on ahead; I'll catch up to you later," she was saying. "I need to ask Hokage-sama something."

"Why? You know Hokage doesn't normally let kids like us talk with him. He has more important things to do."

"I'll find a way. Don't worry; just tell Mom that I'm going to be a little late coming home."

"Okay, but be home in time for dinner. If she yells at you, don't blame me." Sasuke walked off toward home.

The scene somehow flashed forward to when Sora was talking with the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, I have a question that I think could be very important."

"What is it, child?" the Hokage's voice was kind.

"Well, today I got this weird feeling that something is wrong, or that something is going to be wrong, and I can't shake it off. Am I getting sick?"

The Hokage was silent for a while, thinking. He glanced at the child. She looked back at him with the innocent eyes of a child who didn't know the meaning of violence or sorcery. He said, "Sora, I think you are getting premonitions."

"What are pree-mo-ni-shuns?" Sora couldn't pronounce the long word.

"Premonitions are feelings that you get that tell you that something is going to happen; but in your case, that something bad is going to happen."

"But how is that possible? I don't have psychic powers…do I?"

"In a way, you do."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll understand when you get older. Now, I suggest you go home now. These premonitions you're getting might be nothing but your imagination, but if they are real, I think the safest place to be would be at home."

"All right. Thank you for answering my question!" Sora called as she left for home.

When she got there, she was surprised. Everything was strangely quiet. No people talking, no children laughing. Even the birds and crickets were silent. It was rather unsettling. "H-hey!" she called out. "If this is a joke, it's not funny!" She entered her house and slid open the door of the main room, and stopped in her tracks.

There, in a patch of moonlight, lay her parents.

Dead.

Sora's older brother Itachi stood nearby, holding a blood-stained kunai in his hand. Sasuke stood there frozen in fear, but he was unharmed. However, it seemed he wasn't going to stay that way for long.

"Sasuke!!" she screamed. Out of all her siblings, Sasuke was the only one who had ever really cared about her. And now that his life was being threatened, she naturally would feel at least a little anxious for him.

Itachi, hearing Sora's cry, looked at her and merely smirked. He didn't do anything about her, but instead raised the kunai to stab and kill.

What happened next even Sora didn't quite understand. The kunai sliced through the air and lodged itself into something solid. Blood dripped onto Itachi's shoes. He smiled in satisfaction, and then looked up. What he saw was not Sasuke, but Sora who had somehow managed to get in front of him, thus sacrificing herself for her brother. Itachi was shocked. He hadn't meant to kill her, but judging from the kunai sticking out of her side, she would probably die.

Sasuke stood there, also in shock, until he saw Sora's finger point toward the door, meaning for him to make a run for it. He realized that she wanted to save him, and if he didn't escape, her efforts would be in vain, so he ran.

When Itachi realized that Sasuke had escaped, his expression of shock changed to one of anger. He savagely ripped out the kunai, and Sora fell to the floor, her blood mingling with that of her parents.

That was all she saw. Sora blinked a couple times, and then said, "I don't need revenge. What's done is done. No matter what I do, I can't change the past. There has already been enough bloodshed; I don't need to add to it." She was surprised at her own confidence. Her voice had come out firm and strong. As if defeated by her words, the marks on her skin receded, creeping back like cowardly snakes, and then disappeared altogether.

"How…disgustingly noble," said Orochimaru. "But, of course, there are other ways to persuade a person…"

At this point both of them heard a sound. It seemed that they were no longer alone.


	5. Demon?

Chapter Four

Takeshi had already been severely wounded in the left side by one of Orochimaru's followers, so now he sat, resting, inside one of the nearby houses. But his mind was working in a fury. _Something is wrong. Orochimaru would never try to overcome the Village with brute force. Placing an attack at the main gate is stupid. He knows it won't work. Even an academy student wouldn't try to do that. Unless… Unless he's using it as a distraction…but for what? He can't be trying to attack the Hokage: too many guards. But who else could be Orochimaru's target?_

Takeshi sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought. Suddenly, he gasped as he realized who it was. He jumped up and ran faster than the wind down the dirt road, paying no attention to his aching side. If he was right, then it might already be too late.

SLAM! The door burst open. Sora snapped her head up hopefully. Orochimaru looked up, only partly interested. Takeshi was relieved that Sora – as far as he could tell – was all right. But there was no time for him to see whether his student was really okay, because Orochimaru was quickly striding towards her. That snake was going to disappear, taking her with him, or kill her right there. Either way, Takeshi was determined to stop him. Sora's sensei didn't have enough chakra to create or maintain a clone, and as for genjutsu or ninjutsu… In his state, that was out of question. The only answer was to get between the enemy and Sora by himself.

So he did. The last thing he saw was Orochimaru's leg in a kicking stance, moving toward his already wounded side. Someone screamed in agony. He vaguely felt the sensation of flying through the air. Then his head hit something hard.

After that, blackness.

"Takeshi-sensei!" Orochimaru sneered at Sora's cry. Children – so fearful and easily concerned.

He waited until she had calmed down a bit, and then said, "Now, maybe we should get back to what I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted…"

Just then, Orochimaru was again "rudely interrupted" by another person.

It was Natsuko. She had been following her sensei. When she saw him sprawled on the floor, her expression twisted in shock. When she saw Orochimaru, she immediately recognized him as the evildoer that had hurt Sora, and now her sensei.

Natsuko wavered for a moment, realizing that her teammate's life was on the line. Orochimaru's kunai was only inches away from Sora's neck.

Natsuko felt helpless. She couldn't do a single thing to help her friend or sensei without attracting Orochimaru's attention and endangering Sora. And she was sure Orochimaru would not be willing to make a deal with her.

She began to get angry. Once again, this snake would disappear, and this time Sora would be gone too, perhaps forever. This thought repeated itself, over and over, until Natsuko was positively furious. Orochimaru sensed that she was about to do something, and slashed Sora across the cheek with his kunai.

That was the last straw.

Something strange started to happen. Wait, not strange.

Completely bizarre.

Sora, holding a hand to her face, watched in surprise and not a little fear as her friend began to change. Hot, furious energy pulsated from Natsuko, as her pupils narrowed into cat-like slits, her teeth and nails became sharper, and her midnight black hair began to grow longer and (one must say this for lack of better words) wilder. Pointed fuzzy ears popped out of her head instantly, and black whiskers marred her flushed cheeks. Her formerly soft lavender eyes turned a bloodthirsty maroon. Her leg cape suddenly moved. And it wasn't the wind. At first, guessing from the shape of the moving object under the cloth, Sora thought it was a snake. Then, the cape slipped away to reveal…

A tail. A long, furry, cat's tail, the same color as her hair. _So that's the reason why she wore that funny cape thing all the time, _Sora thought. Right before her eyes, it grew longer, and longer until it was able to touch the floor. It didn't, though. Instead it swished back and forth impatiently, like a tiger waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim.

Natsuko had become half cat. More likely...half _cat demon_.

Orochimaru looked on with interest. This team was rather full of surprises. But he wasn't here to fight, so he decided to exit the scene. Just as the newly transformed Natsuko was about to pounce and tear him to shreds, Orochimaru disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Slowly, she began to calm down. Her tail went limp, and then disappeared under her leg cape again. Her eyes returned back to normal, along with everything else. "Wh-what happened to me?" she asked, as if she had no knowledge of what had just happened. "My whole body got warm, and then…I can't remember."

"I think what just happened was a demon," Sora began slowly, uncertain of what to say. "But I would think that if that was a demon, we would have known before now."

"But where did it come from?" Natsuko asked, genuinely puzzled. "If there was a demon in me, at least I would have felt it."

"Do you know of any demons that run in your family?" Sora queried. "Or anything that might have been sealed into you?"

A pause. Then, Natsuko said, "No. If there had been, I would have known or been told."

"Well, it's obvious that there's something – someone – else in you. Someone that can inflict serious damage. Should we tell authorities or anything?"

"No!" Natsuko screeched at the top of her lungs.

There was a shocked silence. "I mean, if we tell, I'll be treated differently for the rest of my life. Think about Naruto. How do you think that affected him? If we speak even a word, something bad will happen to me. I can feel it."

Sora was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I still think we should tell someone. Who knows, he or she might be able to help you."

"Help me what? Become an outcast? You can't tell, Sora. It's the only way it's going to work."

Sora sighed at her narrow-mindedness. "All right, then. If that's how you feel."

"Swear on it!"

"I swear. Yubikiri genman uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu...whatever. But I still don't see how just telling one person is going to make a -"

Just then, Takeshi rolled over and groaned. "Takeshi-sensei!" Natsuko exclaimed. "I almost forgot about him. You wait here. I'll go find a medic."

"Hey Sora, guess what?" Genji said excitedly, as he saw her coming out of her home. It was now some time after the last encounter with Orochimaru. Everything was back to normal. At least for now.

"What?" Sora asked, crossing her arms.

"I just saw Ino, Shikamaru, and that fat boy whose name I don't remember! I wonder what they're doing here. I haven't seen them since the academy! Wait, Sora, where are you going?" he asked as Sora started running down the road.

Sora turned her head around, but she kept running. "To get the go board!"

"The what?"

"It's a board game!"

"What are you getting it for?"

Sora was too far away for Genji to hear any reply.

A minute later, Sora wished she had asked Genji where the Asuma cell was headed before she had rushed off. She had her go board and playing pieces, but no opponent. Now where would her friend most likely be?

All of a sudden, she got a brain storm and began running down the road. She halted by a very large tree. Sure enough, Shikamaru was there, taking a nap on the green grass in the tree's ample shade.

"Hey, Shikamaru," she said, kicking him gently with her foot.

"Hey, yourself. Can't you see I'm trying to-" He stopped as he recognized Sora. "Oh, hi, Sora. Long time no see."

"You want to play go? It's been a while since I've had a really good opponent."

"Mendokuse (How troublesome), but since you seem to need another player…I guess I can take a break from my nap."

Sora set up the board, and they began to play. The beginning was difficult, so for a while they were silent, deep in thought. After ten minutes, though, they began to talk.

"Sora, what happened to your face?"

"Uh, this?" Sora traced the scar on her cheek with her finger. "I, um, accidentally got in the way of Genji's kunai during target practice," she lied, hoping Shikamaru would buy it. Sora decided not to mention the incident with Orochimaru, as it was best kept a secret. Still, she couldn't help feeling guilty over telling her friend a lie.

"Why hello, Sora" said a voice as sweet as syrup and just as sticky. It was Ino, Sora's number one annoyance. It wasn't that Ino was an idiot. She kept asking Sora about her brother, and the makeup she wore was (for Sora) disgusting. All she ever talked about was Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. More boring than a dictionary.

Sora ignored her and slipped another one of her black pieces onto the board. _Go away._

"I heard Sasuke went on a mission to the Land of Waves. Did he tell you anything about it?"

Shikamaru put down one of his white pieces, neatly trapping Sora. "Darn it," Sora said in frustration, but then she smiled. She placed another black piece onto the grid and said, "You fell for it."

Ino's face reddened. She wasn't used to being ignored in this fashion. "Are you two deaf?"

_Oh, just be quiet._ Shikamaru had pulled another of his killer moves again. Thankfully, Sora knew he was going to and had skillfully laid out her trap. Just in time she noticed Ino's foot moving toward the go board. Before the attacker could upset any pieces, Sora's hand had closed itself around her ankle. "Don't even think about it."

"Hmph. I ask a simple question, and look what happens." Ino stalked off to find Sasuke, since his sister had been no help.

Half an hour later, the game was finished. It was an exact tie. Shikamaru sighed. He had underestimated Sora. Oh, well. There was always next time.

"Thanks for playing with me!" Sora called as she trudged off.

"You too." Now, to finish his nap…


	6. Many Meetings

Chapter Five

In the meantime, Genji was having an encounter with another team. He had actually planned for it, deliberately hanging around and trying to act cool. The whole time he was trying to summon the courage to speak to one of the members of the squad.

A member named Tenten.

Genji had always secretly admired Tenten. Back in the academy, he would often pull off pranks and tricks just to get her attention. Like all girls, she would ignore him. That would only cause Genji to redouble his efforts. But there had been that one time when she actually noticed him…

"Hey, you! Yeah, the joke of a ninja with the red hair. You can stop pretending now. We know you're following us."

Genji looked up from his reminiscing. It was Neji, Natsuko's brother, the number one rookie of last year. Also known as the number one at giving icy glares.

"Well, if it isn't Mister Cold Eyes."

Neji shrugged off the insult. "Hn. Names aren't going to make you any greater, failure."

"Is it really necessary to argue?" a voice asked.It was Tenten. Genji swallowed hard, and his cheeks burned redder than his hair.

"Uh…hi, Tenten. Haven't seen you in a while. You, um, sure look much nicer than back at the academy. I-I mean, not that you were ugly back then or anything…"

Tenten smiled. She knew that Genji liked him, and she had to admit he was kind of sweet. In an annoying, prankish sort of way.

"Come on, Tenten, we've got better things to do than stand around talking to this loser," Neji said. To Genji, "Get lost."

"Don't talk to him like that!" Tenten almost shouted, but stopped short. "I mean, there's no need to waste your breath on the likes of him."

"I quite agree," said Lee, who had somehow been able to sneak into the conversation without anyone noticing. "Let's go."

The three left down the road, leaving Genji, who was standing heartbroken at Tenten's words. Even as they left, Genji looked on, hoping Tenten would spare a single glance in his direction. But she never looked back. Not even once.

Sora was wandering around the streets when she heard it. The gasp of someone being strangled.

"Not in my village," she said under her breath, as she drew closer to the sound. Hiding behind a tree, she saw them.

A guy in his early teens was strangling one of the younger academy students. He was wearing all black, with strange markings that were the color of dried blood on his face. Narrow, cat-like eyes peered out from beneath his two-pointed hood. On his back was a weird wrapped thing with brown fur sticking out of the top. Beside him stood a blonde girl, possibly a sibling; she had the same eyes that radiated contempt for all others. She was looking at the boy in annoyance, as if the fact he was strangling a kid was a waste of time, but she didn't make a move to stop him. Both wore headbands with the Sand village insignia.

The child's struggles gradually became weaker, and soon the victim's body was limp in his terrorizer's hands. The evildoer dropped the kid as if he was dropping a bag of garbage, and said in a nasal tone, "Little children are so annoying."

"Really?" came a voice from the unconscious body. "I find bullies even more annoying." As the former tormentor looked on, the "little child" morphed before his eyes into a kunoichi. A kunoichi with green tinged hair and sharingan eyes.

The bully was unsettled, but managed to keep his cool. "Ah, one of the last two survivers of the Uchiha clan. Temari," he said to the girl next to him, "now's a chance to test our skills against the best of the Leaf village."

Temari gave him a look that said, "this is not my problem, this is your problem. Don't drag me into it." Then she walked off into parts unknown.

The boy looked at a loss for a second, but recovering his smug look, he said, "So, I guess it's just you and me, Uchiha."

"The name's Sora," Sora said in a voice that was both casual and dangerous. She blinked, and the sharingan disappeared. "I won't be needing that against the likes of you, Sand ninja or not."

"Cocky, aren't you?" asked the bully in a menacing voice. "Well, in case someone will need the name of your murderer, I'm Kankuro. We'll see if I can't humble you a bit."

Kankuro flung his wrapped object toward Sora, but it flew over her head and landed behind her. "Poor aim," Sora said in a rather bored voice. Kankuro only smirked.

All of a sudden, Sora felt something wooden grasp her ankle, and another wrap around her tightly, trapping her arms. She twisted her head around, and saw that she was being held by a grotesquepuppet that seemed to be controlled by…Kankuro!

Sure enough, his fingers were pulling thin strands of chakra that were attached to the doll. He tugged on them, and Sora fell to her knees. The puppet master pulled out several shuriken, and threw them in a nonchalant way, as if he couldn't care less. But each one hit their target, spilling blood. The puppet released the victim, who sank to the ground, too weak to move. Kankuro smiled maliciously, and kicked the helpless Sora in the stomach. She coughed, and more blood spilled onto the already darkened floor. "From what I see, your clan is pretty second-rate. So, how does it feel to be completely at someone's mercy, Uchiha?" Kankouro asked.

Sora struggled to raise her head up and said, with a half-smirk, "Actually, I'm not."

"Why not?" Kankouro said, as if amused at a small child trying to threaten him with a stick.

"Because you are," someone said from behind him. Kankouro shivered as a kunai slowly slid right under his very nose. "If the Uchiha clan is 'second rate,' then you're the lowest of the low."

"What a pity," came a voice. "You got defeated in your first battle in Konoha, after all your boasting." Sora looked up in the direction of the voice.


	7. More Meetings

Chapter Six

Natsuko moved into her stance, legs spread out, knees slightly bent. One arm was stretched back, and the other hung loosely at her side.

"Jekenhou Hakke Rokujuu Yonsho!"

"Two strikes!"

"Four strikes!"

"Eight st—"

"Hey, Natsuko."

Natsuko halted, turning from the stuffed dummy. Suddenly, her eyes widened to the size of saucers and her mouth gaped. Stepping out from behind a tree was a girl, with swaying, rich gold hair reaching all the way to her toes, and eyes the color of midnight. She wore a plain red tank top, with bandages running over one arm. Azure pants and a purple leg cape completed her outfit.

"Honoka!" Natsuko breathed, barely able to believe her eyes. She couldn't resist giving her friend a quick embrace. They hadn't seen each other for four years. Natsuko looked into Honoka's face, at the same time noticing the Mist Village insignia carved into her friend's headband. She sighed automatically as she recalled Honoka's move to that faraway place.

"Wow, Natsuko, your hair's as blue as ever." Honoka exclaimed teasingly. Natsuko laughed, blinking her memories away.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the Chunin Exams, silly."

"The what?"

"The Chunin Exams! You don't know about it?" Honoka questioned, cocking her head to the side as if Natsuko had just said she didn't know the sky was blue.

"Takeshi-sensei never said anything."

"Takeshi is your sensei? How unlucky!" she joked. "Well, anyways, you'll find out soon enough, I suppose…I'll show you my teammates if you'll introduce me to yours!"

Natsuko agreed. "If I can find them," she said. She followed a chattering Honoka into a dappled clearing, where the tree shadows caressed the forms of two shinobi. Without warning, Natsuko heard a low whistle from the direction of one of the ninjas. Two of her fingers caught the blade of the kunai, the point barely touching her neck.

"What's the big idea!?" Honoka shouted in her foghorn voice.

"Calm down, Honoka. Riku made a mistake." One of Honoka's teammates rose. He was a boy, with silver hair falling over his cold, intense yellow eyes. He was wearing a black T-shirt, and gray, fingerless gloves on both hands. He had on white shorts, with bandages wrapped around both legs. He reminded Natsuko slightly of Sasuke.

"Whatever you say, Ryo." Honoka grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Guh, anyways, this is my friend from Konoha, Hyuuga Natsuko. This is Kurosaki Riku, and Hatake Ryo; they're brothers."(A/N: I took Kurosaki from Bleach) Ryo gave a curt nod, and Riku's lips formed a greeting smile. His eyes were sea blue, and his hair was deep bronze in color. He had on a dark green T-shirt, and bandages were wrapped around both arms, from his shoulders to his fingertips. He wore green shorts, with the same 'R' marking Ryo had, but on his ankles. Natsuko bowed to them in reply, stifling a laugh as Honoka wiggled her tongue at Ryo.

"So, I've shown you my teammates; can you show me yours?" Honoka asked, impatiently jumping up and down.

"Sure, but I don't really know where they are."

Sora stared at the third member of Kankuro's team, who was slightly shorter than Kankuro himself. It was a boy…no…boy sounded too childish, but it was a male. He had tousled, blood red hair. His sea-ice colored eyes were emotionless and seemed to stare straight into Sora's soul. Above his left eye, partly hidden by his bangs, was a _kanji_ meaning "love."

Suddenly Natsuko popped into view, exclaiming. "Hey, look! I found my other…teammate…?"

"Who's the fat guy in the cat costume!? Is he wearing MAKEUP!?" An obnoxious voice yelled. Kankuro slowly turned his head to the sound. Sora could almost see a vein popping out of his neck, as she observed the other team along with Natsuko and Genji.

"Relax, Kankuro," his red-haired teammate said. "There's no need to go on a bloody rampage. Besides, I want that Uchiha girl-" He turned his icy gaze towards Sora "-for myself."

An involuntary shiver went through Sora's body, but she covered it up with a bold smile. "We'll see about that," she said. To her teammate and her friends, "Let's go."


	8. The Test Part 1

Chapter Seven

"Man, you're a weird person _magnet_," Genji told Sora. Both Team 11 and Natsuko's friends were sitting outside a restaurant, catching up with one another.

Riku took a noisy slurp of his bubble tea. "Well, hey, she's an Uchiha. That can cause a considerable amount of people to challenge her. But why don't they all go challenge Sasuke is what I'm wondering."

At that moment, one of the Academy students passed by. "Hey, Sora! Can you teach me how to do replacement jutsus good? I need someone to tutor me before our test tomorrow."

Sora laughed. "Maybe in the afternoon, Kagami. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

"All right! Thanks, Danyu!"

"What did she just call you?" Honoka inquired. "Danyu? Actor?"

"Yep. I'm sometimes called that around here."

"Why?"

"Well, I'm kinda known for being a good actor around here." Sora blushed slightly. "People say that I'm very good at using replacement and clone jutsus, and making them act like me."

"Well, you are," Natsuko said.

"But why danyu (actor)?" Ryo asked. "Shouldn't it be joyu (actress)?"

"Uh, yeah, that… I don't exactly know."

"Maybe it's because you're such a tomboy," Natsuko guessed.

"I guess so…but you're rather tomboy like yourself," Sora replied.

"But I'm not as bad as you. You're the one who wears shorts to any occasion, talks mostly to guys, and picks fights with whatever new stranger comes into town, no matter how creepy they look."

"I didn't pick a fight with him!" Sora nearly shouted.

"Exactly which 'him' are you talking about?" Honoka asked. "I personally think Mr. Makeup-cat looks way creepier than that red-haired guy."

"You didn't see his face." Sora shuddered.

"Are you alright?" Ryo askedwith concern. "You look kinda cold."

"No, I'm okay. I just…I'm fine!" she insisted, as Ryo began rummaging for who-knows-what inside his backpack.

"Sorry about that," Riku said apologetically. "Ryo's a medical ninja. He treats everyone in sight." Genji nearly choked on his bubble tea with laughter.

"Hello." Takeshi walked in. "I was hoping to find you here. I've just nominated you to participate in the Chunin exams. You guys can each decide whether you want to participate or not. Your decision won't affect your team members, so it's your choice."

"Wow, he actually said that much," Genji muttered to Riku. "He normally never says more than one sentence."

"I heard that," Takeshi informed him, suddenly jabbing a cool glare at his direction. "I'll leave you guys to talk about it." He closed his eyes and began walking down the road - although for some reason it seemed as if he was floating away.

The decision was unanimous. Team Eleven was definitely in. The next day, the three of them trudged into the room where the first part of the exams was to be held. There was only one other team there. Also first year Konoha ninja, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were already in the classroom.

"Man, I still can't get why we have to come early," Genji whined.

"It's so that we can observe who we're up against," Natsuko explained for the umpteenth time.

"Smart," Kiba cut in. "But as we're all Konoha first timers, I think we should stick together. Who knows, if we team up, we might be able to all pass as chunin."

"Y-yeah," Hinata stuttered meekly. "N-no sense in hindering each other if we're all f-from the same village."

"I've heard you say that before," Sora coolly informed Kiba. "When we were taking a written test. You wanted to cheat off my paper, but when Master Iruka asked why our papers were exactly identical, you turned on me and said I cheated off you."

"So I did," Kiba replied smoothly. "But now it's not a matter of petty tests, but of ranks and possibly lives."

"Can you just shut your slimy trap and let me sleep?" grumbled Genji, who had made himself comfortable on one of the desks.

Natsuko laughed, then whispered to Hinata, "Genji's right about one thing. Your teammate sure can persuade people with that slippery tongue of his. No wonder his pet's a slobbery dog." Hinata giggled softly.

The doors swung open, and in came several more cells, the mysterious Sand team among them. Pretty soon, the entire room was flooded with shinobi and kunoichi from different villages. The proctors walked in, and the test began. (AN: I'm skipping the whole deal about the rules, 'cause you all know them)

Genji was scared half to death. He spent a whole half hour screaming in his head. _What am I gonna do?!?! I don't know a single one of these! But if I cheat, I'll be caught for sure! WHAT AM I GONNA DO?! _

He threw his head back in frustration, and suddenly spotted something. _There's a mirror up there! And it's reflecting someone's answers!_

Genji was just about to write down the answers when he stopped himself. _This is my big chance! Better not ruin it. _He checked to see where his proctor was standing. _To my left. Okay, now just angle my left eye down, and…_While Genji's left eye looked at his paper, his right eye looked up at the mirror. And faster than you can say "chameleon," Genji copied down each of the answers. He didn't even bother to find out whose test he was cheating off of, but behind him, Tenten smiled.

Natsuko, however, was having an easier time of it. Once she figured out the _real _rules, she simply used her byakugan to see through the person in front of her and quickly copied down the answers. _But I'll go through the person in front of him too, _she decided, _in case he doesn't have the right ones. But what's with question ten?_

Sora, the Actor, was living up to her name. Not only was she an actor, she could spot other pretenders as well, and there were two people in the room that were faking it. They started writing long before anyone else had lifted his pencil; for what reason, she didn't know. But she decided to take a chance. Her sharingan eyes mimicked every move they did, and pretty soon, she had her answers down. She, like Natsuko, couldn't figure out what was with the tenth question, either. _But there's something fishy about this whole test, too. Well, nothing I can do about it._ She did a cross-check; if their answers were obviously wrong, then she would know. But their answers checked out, so she didn't do anything else. _Done!_

Natsuko finished copying. _Done!_

_Done! _Genji thought as he finished. Then he began to wonder who he was copying off of, which was pretty smart for him. It took him a couple of minutes and more than two one-eyeballed looks behind him to figure out who it was: Tenten. She noticed him looking at her and gave him a cross-eyed grin. He tried to do the same, but his eyes were beginning to hurt. He heard the scratch of a proctor's pencil on his left side, but not just any proctor. _His proctor. _Genji quickly turned around and did his best to look like he was thinking hard.

Natsuko got bored. True to her word, she had double-checked the guy in front of her's answers with the person in front of him. And the next. And the next. And now, she was bored. She glanced over to her teammates. Genji seemed…somehow relaxed! _Hopefully, he's figured out that you're supposed to cheat…_

Before anyone had realized it, the time was up. All three members of cell 11 braced themselves for an extremely hard question or something similar to it.

But what the main proctor said shocked them all.


	9. Sandy Situation

Fifteen intense minutes and another fifteen weird ones later, Cell 11 found themselves standing in the Forest of Death. Genji was still getting over the relief of making it through the written test by babbling as fast as he could (that was how he got rid of nervousness and expressed his relief). Natsuko was wrapped in thought about the strange proctor named Anko. And Sora was focusing on the task at hand.

"Can you just shut up for one minute, Genji?" she growled. "I'm trying to think here. And it would be _infinitely_ helpful if you could keep Natsuko from walking into that tree."

"What?" Genji said, slightly confused. Then, seeing Natsuko, lost in thought, getting dangerously close to smashing her face in, screamed, "NATSUKO!!"

"What were you thinking?" Sora nearly shouted. "You're going to bring practically every shinobi from thirteen miles away down on us!"

"Sorry…" Genji said softly. But he did get Natsuko out of her thinking mode. "I just hope we don't meet up with that creepy, bloodthirsty what's-his-name. He said he's going after Sora, but I've a feeling he's after us -"

Natsuko suddenly turned around and stared at Genji so hard, he stopped speaking.

"What did you say?" she asked, looking at him in the eye.

"I didn't say anything about you!" Genji barely managed to squeak out. "All I said was that I hope that we don't meet up with that creepy, bloodthirsty what's-his-name. And that I've a feeling he's after us all."

"That's it!" Natsuko exclaimed, with the expression that early man must have had on his face when he discovered fire.

"What is it?" Sora asked, sensing that Natsuko had just come up with another one of her brilliant plans.

But Natsuko didn't answer. Her mind was already working hard on a way to lure another team to their doom.

Ten minutes later, Natsuko explained the plan to her teammates with not a little enthusiasm. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

"So, you want me to pretend that I'm hurt to lure other teams, and then we use the 'Kumokasen' combination on them?" Sora asked, referring to a battle strategy that Natsuko had also come up with earlier.

"I _think_ I get it…" Genji mumbled, scratching his head.

Sora thought for a minute. "But we haven't tested the 'Kumokasen' yet! I mean, it worked on bandits, but we're talking ninja here, not stupid country thieves."

"Well," Natsuko said thoughtfully, "it's worth a try, right? The 'Kumokasen' worked extremely well on the bandits; even Takeshi sensei had no idea what we were doing. Why shouldn't this be the same?"

"I guess… But I don't like the idea of pretending to be hurt. What if someone sees through it?"

"Yeah, like Kiba," Genji cut in. "He could _smell_ through it."

"Then, why don't we use animal blood?" Natsuko asked brightly. "I'll go find something."

"Okay, I guess," Sora sighed, but her face told a different story as Natsuko left. It wasn't like her to be eager to kill something. Normally, violence was the last option to Natsuko. But lately…

It took Natsuko half an hour to "find something." When she came back, she had caught five mice, and all of them looked rather bloody. Natsuko's fingers were also covered in blood.

"What happened?!" Genji nearly screamed. "Why is there blood everywhere? What were you doing to the poor mice?" He shared his cousin's soft-heartedness for small animals.

"Why did you have to catch mice?" the more practical Sora asked, although she was also a bit upset. "You know that a bigger animal will probably yield more blood…"

Natsuko looked somewhat surprised, as if the idea had never occurred to her before.

"Wait a minute," Sora said, realization dawning on her face. "It's THAT thing, isn't it?"

Natsuko paused, trying to grasp the meaning of "THAT thing," and then nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, I just have trouble controlling the -" Catching herself, she stopped. "Well, I guess I overdid it this time. Want me to find something bigger?"

"Sure," Sora said, silently thanking Natsuko for not telling too much. "But Genji has to go with you, just in case."

Genji looked excited for a second, and then asked, "Just in case? Just in case of what?" A pause commenced. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" Genji looked accusingly at Sora, but she didn't answer.

"Oh, alright," Natsuko said, trying to hide her evident disappointment. "What about you, Sora? You sure you'll be alright by yourself?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine. I'll just practice acting like I'm wounded." Sora was still a bit put out about the whole idea. In fact, this whole ordeal was making her grumpy. "You guys just go along and catch something while I practice," she said. "Remember, if you run into trouble, whistle like a bird."

"But I can't whistle like…" Genji began, but his voice faded out of hearing range as he ran to catch up with Natsuko.

Ten minutes later, Natsuko and Genji had netted and killed a rabbit. Poor Genji was on the verge of nausea as Natsuko extracted some blood and placed it into an empty container. "That should be enough," she said, wiping her hands on her leg cape. "You can open your eyes now, Genji... Wait, what was that?"

From a long way off came a soft but distinct whistle. Genji's eyes shot open. "That's Sora!" he cried. "Come on! Forget the blood and everything!"

The two ninja raced through the woods, throwing caution to the winds. But just before they ran into the clearing where Sora was, Natsuko remembered herself.

"Sh!" She put out her arm to stop Genji from rushing headlong into trouble. "We need to figure out what type of danger she's in and how to help first. We'll be of no use to her if we get killed for stupidity."

"Oh, fine." Genji quietly jumped onto a thick branch overhanging the clearing and found a spot where he could see without being seen. He suddenly froze, horrified by what he saw, yet unable to turn away; he automatically took a slow, startled step backwards at the scene that met his widened blue eyes.

"Well?" Natsuko asked in a whisper. "What's going on?"

Sora, struggling fiercely, was imprisoned in a crushing cocoon, from which only her face could be seen. Her normally calm visage was now twisted in fear and agony. Genji's gaze shifted nervously, and caught sight of the shinobi who was causing all this. It was that one person that Genji had hoped not to meet, the one named Gaara. A blood-freezing sneer was plastered onto Gaara's face, lighting the rest of his features with a sinister glow. His icy eyes hungered to see blood, as he very slowly began to close his outstretched hand that seemed to be controlling the sand. His teammates were passively standing in the background, looking as if they didn't care in the least whether murder would happen or not. Both of them looked slightly nervous, though. The precious earth scroll lay on the ground in front of Gaara, but he didn't pick it up. He was too engrossed in slowly killing his victim.

All of a sudden, the branch underneath Genji gave way with a loud crack, and he tumbled headfirst towards the ground below.


	10. Sacrifice

**Sorry, to keep you waiting. That chapter took a long while. But hopefully, it was worth the wait. So read on, and enjoy!**

Genji lay where he was, too scared to move, yet afraid that if he didn't, he would get killed. His mind was racing in frantic circles, panicing and trying to come up with a plan, but his mind was too crammed with anxiety for any idea to come through. This was unlike any other experience he had had before. Always before, if he failed, there was someone to help him and watch his back. But this time, there was no Sora to cover him, no Takeshi to quickly end the fight. _I'm going to die if I don't do something! _He thought._ But what can I do? I can't stand against Gaara; he's too strong, and I'm too weak. But if I don't… _He stared up at his adversary in fear and awe.

Gaara had showed no sign of surprise at Genji's sudden appearance; indeed, he had not even glanced at the figure that had so abruptly fallen in front of him. His expression was altogether passive, except for his eyes, which remained fixed on Sora's. Sora returned his gaze stolidly, never wavering or even blinking.

But it was like staring death in the face. Gaara's pale face was as emotionless as a mask, but underneath that his eyes were like two fathomless pools of … _Of pain,_ Sora realized. _There's something missing in those eyes, something I can't place… But what could it be? _

Gaara's outstretched fingers suddenly jerked a little closer together, resulting in a gasp of agony from his prey. Genji turned his head towards the noise, and saw that her condition was even worse. Genji could see Sora's eyes filling with red, which meant that some of the veins in her eyes had burst. Crimson fluid began to trickle down her face; it looked as if she was crying tears of blood._ What am I going to do? _Genji thought desperately. _I can't move without being seen, and Sora can't move at all. And Natsuko….where's Natsuko?_

"Oh, come on!" Natsuko screamed silently at herself. "Your friends are in danger and you need to help them!" But somehow, her legs refused to budge. A different voice began to speak in her head: _**If you let yourself fight, I'll be free again! If you lose yourself, I'll be free again…**_

The voice of It.

Instantly, the situation became much more complicated than it needed to be. With the demon involved, Natsuko's and many others' lives could be at stake. She didn't even know exactly what powers that…that_creature _within her possessed, or what dangers, for that matter. But, despite all these, it was there. Talking to her. Trying to convince her that letting it out just this once was a good idea._**But I could help you win this battle. You do want to save your friends, don't you? **_

_But what if I kill my friends trying?_

_**Take the chance! Your friends will die if you won't!**_

_Even if I don't kill them, what will happen if my secret is revealed to the world? I'll become an outcast, like Naruto…or worse._

_**You are being selfish. You know it. You're afraid of what others might think of you. You're so worried about your own image, that you're willing to sacrifice your friends for it.**_

_No, I'm not! I…_

_**Face it. Either you let me help you, or your friends die. **_

_STOP IT!! Please…just stop it. _

Meanwhile, the noose was tightening around Sora's neck. Genji couldn't even look on anymore. He couldn't watch his friend die. This was the person who, despite all their differences, had become his friend. She was the sister he had never had, and the friend he had always needed.

A muffled implosion, a sudden hiss and the splash of what sounded like falling rain came to Genji's ears, and he knew it was over. He dared to open his eyes and stared at her murderer in horror, as red drops fell on his face like an April drizzle.

"You…you killed her!" Genji gasped in a voice that contained a mixture of grief, anger, and fear.

Gaara simply smiled, as if to say, "Yes, I did."

Suddenly, the air was filled with a thick, choking smoke. No one could see anything, but out of the dark haze came a familiar voice, "I don't die that easily, you know."

When the smoke had cleared, all traces of the dead Sora had disappeared. Instead, there she stood, alive and well, with her lips in a slight smirk, and a fox-like mischief in her eyes. No one spoke, but their thoughts all went along the same lines: a shadow clone jutsu.

"Forbidden, I know," Sora said, "but when I saw Naruto practicing, I couldn't resist but copy it." She walked over to Natsuko, who remained oblivious to the situation, still struggling against the demon. "Hope I didn't scare you guys too much. Now let's get out of here, before -"

She never finished her sentence. Gaara, consumed by a blinding rage at being cheated out of his victim, made his move. Sand elevated off the ground and formed a missile, aimed straight for the closest target: Genji. The victim couldn't do a thing to save himself. All he saw was a flash of gray and green from the corner of his eye and a speeding blur of brown headed straight for him, before he was knocked down by a huge force.

Natsuko glanced up. All the voices inside her head had suddenly ceased. The demon had disappeared; in fact, there was hardly any feeling coming from the dark recesses of her mind. She timidly raised her head, wondering if something had happened that had forced the demon to retreat, and gasped.

Blood was spattered everywhere. Gaara stood there, stone-still in shock, as he stared at the scene in front of him. His two teammates were also stunned, but they seemed more concerned with the sight's effect on Gaara then the sight itself. Genji took one look, and nearly fainted.

Sora was positioned in front of Genji, where she had been shielding him from the onslaught of sand. She held her arms up in a protective stance, covering her face. Her feet had dug a twin ditches in the ground, due to the force from Gaara's sand missile, but they still stood, firm and resolute. The front of her shirt was now dyed a dark red and deep gashes criss-crossed all over her arms.

"Gaara…" Sora only whispered his name, but it caused him to flinch. "Gaara, please…" Sora's plea died out, and she collapsed onto the forest floor. The last thing she was aware of was someone screaming in pain, and then someone picking her up. Then her mind clouded and she saw no more.

"How is she?" Genji asked anxiously.

The minute Sora collapsed, Natsuko had taken action. Thanks to her, Team 11 was now a safe distance from Gaara. They had camped out that night on a broad branch far above the forest floor, close to a river, and providing a good view of whoever might be coming.

"Well? Is Sora okay?" Genji repeated impatiently.

It took Natsuko a while to answer. "She's not too good. None of her vital organs have been hit, but she's lost a lot of blood. I'm not sure she'll be able to pull through," Natsuko said in a strained voice, as she washed her bloodstained hands in the river. Her eyelids were heavy from staying up all night to take care of Sora. But really, besides staunching the wounds and trying to stop the flow of blood, there was nothing she could do but watch and wait to see what would happen.

"Then what are we going to do?" Genji asked, even though he already knew the answer. No one wanted to throw in the towel now, but with Sora's injuries this bad, they might have no choice.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Natsuko stared with unseeing eyes at her reflection in the river. After a brief silence, she spoke again. "I'm afraid this is all my fault. If I hadn't gone and blanked out…maybe Sora might still be okay."

"What are you talking about?" Genji exclaimed. "No one's blaming you."

"But still…I can't help but think that maybe if I had done certain things differently, we might all be alright. As is, it looks like none of us are going to make it to Chunin level this year. We might not even make it out of this forest alive."

Genji could not take any more. One of his teammates was close to death, and now his other teammate was drowning in a sea of guilt. "Look, Natsuko, I'm not as smart as you are, but maybe that's a good thing, 'because I don't have the mental capaity to deal in 'what if's."

Natsuko looked up, shocked at Genji's sudden outburst. His voice was strong, almost as if the previous event had never happened.

"It's not going to help anyone if you just keep thinking about what you could have done. Why don't you think about what you can do now? It could have been worse. We could have all been killed, if you hadn't stepped in and gotten us out of there."

Natsuko blinked. He was right. Why was she thinking about such things, when there were more important things to do? Instead of dwelling on the past, she could be helping her team prepare for the future. And somehow, she had fallen into this pit of despair, and it had taken Genji, of all people, to haul her out of it.

"I'm going to go check on Sora," she said abruptly, standing up and quickly walking away.

That was it. Not so much as a "thank you" or even a "shut your big mouth; you're annoying me." But Genji smiled. He knew Natsuko well enough to know that she didn't thank people with words.


	11. Kumokasen

Prologue

For the next two days, Sora drifted in and out of consciousness. Even when she was awake, nothing Natsuko or Genji said would register. Her eyes, only half-open, were lost in fog, as if she was still dreaming.

"It's like we can't reach her," Genji muttered one night. "She's lost in La-la Land while we're stuck here taking care of her." He sighed, wishing he could be away in La-la Land as well. Both he and Natsuko were freezing, tired, and starving to death. They had to take turns sleeping and hunting for food, so that someone could watch Sora at all times. And the whole time, they had to be on their guard against other teams who might try to take their scroll. Thankfully, no one had tried to assault them…yet.

"Don't think that Sora's having a good time," Natsuko replied. "Look at her."

Sora's body kept stiffening and her pale face looked strained, as if fighting for her life. Her fingers twitched spastically, and her lips were moving wordlessly, muttering things no one could hear.

"It's your turn to watch her," Natsuko said, stifling a yawn. "I've been up half the night and my eyelids weigh a ton. Good night." And with that, Natsuko dropped off, right then and there.

"Sheesh, she falls asleep and leaves me to do all the work," Genji muttered. Just then, Sora gave another shuddering lurch. "And sure, you've been a great help," he retorted at her unconscious body. "Aaah, what's the use…we might as well…give…up…" Genji opened his mouth wider than a lion, and fell asleep mid-yawn.

By the time things started getting interesting, Genji was beyond wakeable. If he had been awake, he would have seen Sora tossing and turning, like a child with a nightmare. But Genji was still floating in the comforting dream land, so he didn't hear her breathing growing quicker and more ragged, and her talking in her sleep: "No…please, no…Sasuke!"

That last word was so loud, it snapped her awake. Sora's eyes flew open, and took in her surroundings clearly for the first time in two days. She swallowed the cold, hard lump in her throat, gradually lifting her shaky gaze towards the foliage above her, staring up at a canopy of leaves that let only the occasional sunbeam in. She could hear Genji snoring away, and, turning her head to the left, she discovered that Natsuko was also fast asleep. _What a mess we've ended up in, _she thought. _And it's all my fault. I'm just a burden to them now. Just extra luggage. What am I good for? Nothing, at least until I get healed._

A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Had a bad dream?"

Sora was so shocked that she nearly sat up, but immediately let out a sharp hiss of pain through clenched teeth and was forced to lie back down. "Wh-who are you?" she asked in a steady tone that thinly masked her growing fear and sense of helplessnesss. Now was not the time to start a fight. "What do you want?"

"Why, what a silly question. Your scroll, of course." The stranger stepped forward into Sora's range of sight.

It was a woman with straight black hair, pale skin, and a sinister expression that was vaguely familiar. Her hitai-ate (headband) had the Grass insignia on it. Sora couldn't explain it, but her gracefully fluid pose and her icy tone of voice reminded her of a snake.

"What if I don't give it to you?" Sora asked, stalling for time, and hoping that she would wake her teammates up.

"Do you think you're in any condition to argue, my dear?" The woman asked in a voice as silky as a cat. But her voice carried a threatening messsage behind the smooth words. "If you're so determined, I'm afraid I'll have to fight you for it, and we know you're in no condition to do that."

"Well," Sora replied carefully. She didn't want to give enough lip to provoke the stranger, only enough to keep her talking. There was a fine line between offending someone and entertaining them. "What if I still won't tell you where it is? What if I've hidden it somewhere?"

The woman sighed. "Then I might have to force it out of you. Kill you, even." In the blink of an eye, she materialized behind Sora and bent down next to her, pressing a kunai against her throat. "We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?"

Sora felt a jolt of new, yet familiar, pain hit her, this time from the shoulder, as the tips of the woman's hair lightly brushed over her face. She grimaced, and one of her hands went to her shoulder. All of a sudden, the puzzle pieces fell into place. Sora knew who this person was. But she continued stalling, waiting for the perfect moment, while she slowly moved her hand towards her weapons pouch.

"I'm the only one who knows where the scroll is," she bluffed. "If you kill me, you'll never obtain it; it's hidden in a place no one will ever find. But I'm never going to give you any information while I still live. So what are you going to do now?"

"You're a smart one, aren't you?" Sora's enemy chuckled darkly. "But you must not consider your life of much value if you are willing to throw it away over a simple scroll. How interesting. But I wonder how much you value the lives of your friends…" the stranger trailed off suggestively.

Sora decided that now was the time to stop playing. "But the scroll isn't what you value yourself, is it, _Orochimaru_?"

"Oh dear, I guess you've found me out. And I thought this was such a brilliant disguise." Orochimaru smiled mockingly. "So, can you also read my mind, and tell me what I want?"

"Yes, but no thanks!"

Suddenly, the air was filled with a thick, white substance as Sora detonated a smoke bomb. It temporarily obscured all vision, blocking Orochimaru from seeing Sora's next move.

Natsuko and Genji suddenly found themselves awakened by a sharp kick and a voice whispering in their ears: "It's time to put the Kumokasen to action!" By the time the smoke cleared, Team 11 was standing in a clearing on the ground of the forest, ready for Stage One of the Kumokasen. The enemy was nowhere in sight.

"Sora, how -" Genji began, shocked to see the still injured Sora even standing.

"Now is not the time for questions," Sora cut him off, gritting her teeth against the growing pain. "Natsuko, I need the coordinates."

"Coordinates? Oh, right. Byakugan!" Veins began to stand out on Natsuko's face as she began to reel off a list of unintelligible words and numbers. She halted abruptly. "Sora, are you sure you want to take the leg position, with you injured like that? I can do it for you."

"No, I need to do this one on my own. We'll stick to the original plan. Natsuko, you take the eye position, I'll do the leg, and Genji will take the web. Genji?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you use both sheet and tangle. This one's slippery, so don't waste time making an orb. Natsuko, can you give me the coordinates again?"

"Alright." Natsuko repeated the list: "Head, right leg, eight bounds; abdomen, right leg, twelve bounds; lower cephalothorax, left leg, fourteen bounds; upper cephalothorax, right leg, nine bounds."

Sora didn't move an inch from where she stood, but soon the sounds of a struggle met their ears. A short while later, everyone could see it as well.

A second Sora was fighting against a very surprised Orochimaru. But that was simply the point of the Kumokasen: to confuse the enemy so that they wouldn't sense an attack.

Natsuko was the "eye." Her job was to pinpoint the enemy's location with her Byakugan and give Sora the coordinates. The complex method of communication was meant to confuse the enemy as well. The compass was a spider, with the head in whatever direction Natsuko was facing; each leg stood for a different direction, and each part of the body corresponded to a different pair of legs. A "bound" was a predetermined distance of ground so that Sora could figure out approximately how far away the enemy was.

This was where Sora, the "leg" came in. She generated a clone before the entire operation began, and planted it with Natsuko and Genji. Meanwhile, the real Sora hid among the trees, following Natsuko's coordinates. She silently killed any clones the enemy might have created using her Sharingan, and went in for the kill. Next, she would lure the enemy out into the open, using Sharingan if necessary.

Genji, the "web" was next. His part was the most crucial, and it was still yet to come.

Meanwhile, Sora's injuries were beginning to cramp her fighting style. It was already difficult to draw out chakra from her weak body in the first place, but with a physical injury to help defeat along, well…_ Let's just say things aren't looking too good right now, _Sora thought. She was using every weapon and jutsu at her disposal to slowly but surely push Orochimaru closer to the clearing where her friends stood. Sora knew her chakra and stamina wouldn't hold out for very long, and she was running out of ideas.

She flung another few shuriken at Orochimaru, who looked none the worse for wear; he simply dodged them with ease. And he was only slightly put out when that attack was immediately followed by a fireball which forced him one step back. But inwardly, Sora rejoiced. One step back was one step closer to the end of this battle. Thankfully, he hadn't shown any sign of finding out their strategy yet.

Finally, he was on the edge of a thick branch almost directly overhead the clearing. Sora ducked and swept her foot in an arc in order to trip him. Orochimaru lightly jumped to avoid it, but that was just what she wanted. She kicked him in midair, not strong enough to make any lasting impression, but enough to send him tumbling down towards the clearing.

"Genji! Now!" she yelled.


	12. Less

Prologue

Suddenly, countless strings of web shot through the air as several Genji clones dashed here and there, flying around like the legs of a spider wrapping up its prey. They moved incredibly fast, wrapping, spinning, and warping their way around. In the blink of an eye, the webs had formed a net, trapping Orochimaru inside as he plummeted to the earth.

There was a moment of silence while everyone took this in. Then Genji squealed, beside himself with glee. "Yes!" he cried, pumping one fist in the air and jumping up and down. "It worked!"

Natsuko had a look of relief on her face as she let out her caught breath in a whoosh, breathing in fresh relief. Sora was hunched over, one hand on her stomach, grinning through the pain. She, too, was relieved.

But Orochimaru's reaction was strangest of all. He smiled. In fact, he began to laugh. "You children think you're so great," he said, eyeing each of them in turn. "Granted, it was clever. I'll give you that much. Ingenious, maybe. But you still don't have the" – here his cold gaze lingered on Sora – "_power _to defeat me."

In the shocked silence that followed, a tiny click was heard, followed by a huge explosion. Smoke, dirt, leaves, and other debris flew everywhere. All three members of Team 11 were blown off their feet.

"Whuaaaah!" _THUD. _Genji's scream, heard above the rest of the noise, was cut off abruptly. Nothing, not even silhouettes, could be seen in the cloud of dust, but it was likely that he was unconscious.

Natsuko twisted in mid-air, curling herself into a ball to absorb the shock. But even that wasn't enough to prepare her for the spine-jolting crash she felt as her body hit the earth once, twice, and finally coming to a stop the third time. Slowly uncurling from her protective ball and opening her eyes, she waited for the dust to settle before scanning her surroundings. There was Genji, his head against a boulder. Blood trickled down the side of his head; nothing serious, but his being unconscious was a bad sign.

Natsuko shifted, trying to support her body enough to sit up, and gasped as pain shot up her leg. She looked down. There was a long gash down the length of her left thigh, bleeding profusely. She touched it gingerly, to see if any bones were broken, and just barely muffled a scream. But it was too late.

"Well, well, well," came the unmistakable voice from behind her. "I didn't expect to see you still conscious. You're sturdier than I thought. But, too bad, I'll have to take you out. I wouldn't want you barging in on my plans for Sora, now would I?"

"Sora!" Natsuko suddenly remembered her third teammate. She pulled herself around to face Orochimaru. "Where is she? What have you done with her?"

"Oh, don't worry. I haven't done anything…yet. But I'll have to get you out of the way first."

Natsuko felt something behind her, jabbing into the back of her neck, and her world went black.

Grinning satisfactorily, Orochimaru turned around and walked over to Sora. She had been sprawled on the ground, curled up in pain, but, when the light steps of Orochimaru reached her ears, she got up quickly. One of her hands clenched a kunai; the other gripped her side, already turning red with blood. With both Natsuko and Genji out, she was alone and vulnerable. In this state, Sora was helpless, but she decided to make a last stand.

"Oh? What's this?" Orochimaru asked in mock concerned. "A re-opened wound? You poor thing." He sneered, evidently not in the least sorry for her.

"So what? It's none of your business," Sora growled.

"But it is. You see," Orochimaru stepped closer. "Your body will be mine soon, and it's important that you take good care of it." He paused, and then smirked as if some nasty idea had just entered his mind. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to take care of other people's things? Oh dear, how silly of me to forget. You don't have a mother." He laughed cruelly.

Sora slowly began to back away. "This body's not yours yet. Not if I can help it."

"Yes, but can you help it?" Orochimaru chuckled ominously again as Sora backed into a tree. She leaned against it, already tired out; perspiration was pouring down her face, and her breath came out in ragged gasps. There was nowhere to run, no one to turn to. There was nothing she could do to save herself. Or was there?

Suddenly, the hand holding her kunai moved to her throat, until the icy prick of the metal pressed against her skin. "Come any closer and this knife goes through my neck!" Sora shouted desperately. It was a gamble, but better to lose her life than to put her body in the hands of one who would use it to destroy her friends.

For a moment, Orochimaru looked startled, even outraged. He didn't think Sora would do something like that. Truly, this was an unusual girl, one that would doubtless prove useful. Orochimaru grinned. This one was a keep.

"Using all your resources, eh?" he said. "That's quite daring, for a child your age."

"Yeah, so what are you going to do about it?" Sora retorted. The glint in Orochimaru's eyes told her that he had something else up his sleeve. And she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, which was not very far at all.

The two stood there for a good while, just staring each other down; Sora's desperate gold-flecked eyes against Orochimaru's, as black as his heart. Suddenly, Orochimaru's hand shot out, too abruptly for Sora's eyes to follow. Sora felt the arm holding the kunai being twisted behind her; her grip on the kunai dropped.

The minute the kunai clattered against the ground, Sora's body went limp. The last bit of hope had just slipped out of her grasp. She collapsed, gritting her teeth in pain. But from her position on the floor, she gave Orochimaru a defiant glare.

This seemed to irritate Orochimaru, who sensed that she was not completely defeated. But he covered it up with a triumphant mask. "So how does it feel to be completely powerless?"

"I'm not," Sora said with difficulty. "I can still think, you dolt."

"I can take that away, too, if you like," he replied genially.

"Try me."

"With pleasure." Orochimaru's foot aimed a kick directly at her stomach.

A scream issued, unbidden, from Sora's lips, as the force of the kick sent her flying into the trunk of another tree, where she slumped to the floor, her face white with pain.

Orochimaru prodded her with his foot to see whether she was still conscious. With a groan, Sora rolled over. Her face was pale, and the blood around her mouth stood out in stark contrast. Her shirt, which had already been stained with dried blood, was now covered with a fresh layer of red. But somehow, her eyes still held that bold, audacious sparkle. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her totally defeated. She was in too much pain to speak now; if she opened her mouth, she might accidentally let out a scream. But that glare said everything for her.

Orochimaru already knew the answer, but he asked the question anyway. "Defeated yet?"

"No," Sora replied through clenched teeth.

"I thought as much. But, in any case, you're powerless right now. You can't do a thing to protect yourself." To demonstrate, Orochimaru placed a foot on her stomach and leaned his full weight on it.

Sora wasn't even aware that she was screaming. The only thought that came to her mind was wave after wave of nauseating pain. She couldn't understand anything Orochimaru was saying. Sora caught the words, "Useless…worthless…powerless…_less. _Tears poured down her face, and her bloody mouth gasped for air; it was getting unbearable. It _was _unbearable.

Within seconds, she was gone.


	13. Epilogue

Prologue

So what happens next in the story? Does Sora die? Does she live? If so, what happens next? What about the rest of the team? The possibilities are endless.

But only your imagination can decide what happens next.

Sincerely,

The Author

P.S. If you really want an answer to these questions, request an answer from me. I may write a sequel. But ONLY IF someone asks for them. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."


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